The present invention relates to a method for automatically loading a flexible, belt-shaped recording medium into a container which is so designed that an ordinary person can readily record data on the recording medium and reproduce the data.
The term "flexible belt-shaped recording medium" as herein used is intended to mean a recording medium which is provided in a relatively compact container such as a magazine, cartridge or cassette which is manufactured by assembling plastic-molded members. The recording medium is in the form of a coil. While being unwound, the recording medium runs at a constant speed along a running path defined by guide members provided in the container while simultaneously signals such as video signals, audio signals, or data signals are recorded on the recording medium or signals previously recorded on the recording medium are reproduced.
Typically, the recording medium is 3 to 51 mm in width, 45 to 3000 m in length, and 6 to 50 .mu.m in thickness. The recording medium is manufactured by forming a photosensitive film layer, a magnetic film layer or the like on the surface of a flexible supporting material. The supporting material may for example be made of a plastic film of polyethylenterephthalate, polyethylene-2, 6-naphthalate, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose acetate propionate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polycarbonate, polyimide or polyamide; paper; paper coated with or laminated with .alpha.-polyolefins 2 to 10 in the number of carbons such as polyethylene, polypropylene and ethylene copolymer; or metal foil of aluminum, copper or tin. Typical examples of the recording medium described above are "8 mm movie films", "audio tapes", "video tapes" and "data tape".
Heretofore, a simple running system has been employed for the recording medium running path formed by the guide members in the container in order to reduce the size of the container and to make it simple to place the recording medium over the guide members. The aforementioned "simple running system" has been employed for a film F in a single 8 mm movie film magazine 1 as shown in FIG. 1 such as manufactured by Fuji Photograph Film Co. or for a tape T in a compact audio tape cassette 21 as shown in FIG. 2 such as proposed by Phillips Co. In this running system, the guide members 2 and 3 guide the film F or the tape T in a predetermined direction while supporting only one surface, normally the rear surface, of the film F or the tape T.
This simple running system makes it relatively easy to load the film or the tape in the magazine or cassette. However, such a simple running system nonetheless has a number of problems. Recently, improvements in the quality of the film F or the tape T have been strongly demanded. In addition, video tapes or 8 mm movie films with magnetic stripes have been developed and used commercially. However, it is rather difficult for this simple running system to completely satisfy all the requirements accompanying the desired improvements.
Accordingly, various studies have been made to improve the running system of the recording medium in the container as a result of which novel magazines and cassettes have been proposed in the art. The proposed magazines and cassettes utilize a running system including a so-called "S-shaped running path" in which both surfaces of the recording medium are guided and supported by guide members. Such a running system including the S-shaped running path has been increasingly applied to other devices as well.
An example of a container employing a running system including an S-shaped running path in a home video system cassette is shown in FIGS. 3 through 7. The video tape cassette 30 has a body part or lower half 31. In the lower half 31, tape T is continuously supplied from a tape supplying hub 32 to a tape winding hub 38. While being held by a first guide pin 33 and the free end portion of an elastic piece 34, the direction of the tape T thus supplied is changed by 90.degree. with the aid of a second guide pin 35. Thereafter, while both surfaces of the tape T are supported and guided by a third guide pin 36 and a first guide roller 37 at a relatively large winding angle, the running direction of the tape T is again changed by 90.degree. to direct the tape T toward the tape winding hub 38.
In this case, a first S-shaped running path is formed by the guide pins 33 and 35 and the elastic piece 34 and a second S-shaped running path is formed by the third guide pin 36 and the first guide roller 37. The first S-shaped running path is effective in controlling the rate of supply of the tape from the tape supplying hub 32 and in regulating the displacement of the tape. The second S-shaped running path provides back-tension to the tape T as it is wound on the tape winding hub 38.
With the employment of the tape running system described above, the running characteristics of the recording medium are remarkably improved and the recording and reproducing characteristics and the quality of reproduced pictures are also considerably improved. However, the employment of this running system is still disadvantageous in the following points. First, the recording medium must be manually loaded in the container. Accordingly, the work efficiency in manufacture is extremely low and the production cost of the container is necessarily high when compared with a container using the above-described simple running system.